


Fissures In The Crystal Ball

by Ravenne_Lil



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2011-03-31
Updated: 2011-03-30
Packaged: 2017-10-17 10:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/175635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravenne_Lil/pseuds/Ravenne_Lil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lily declines her invite to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, years later with the Wizard War bleeding into the muggle world, Lily finds herself drawn into a conflict she is not prepared for, a young wizard of pureblood ancestry who she did not expect and destiny that she cannot avoid.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fate and Probability

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a stand alone for a fest I did on Live journal. A few have seemed interested in reading a story that is longer with this sort of set up, I figure it would be fun to write. For those that read the original fic, there may be some changes in details. Not very big ones though.

This wasn’t James’ first excursion into Muggle London. He and Sirius had done it many times over the past two summers, since Sirius had come to live with James and his parents. The last month of summer before they were due to report to platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross, the two friends-more like brothers in many ways-would come to the city from the Potter home and enjoy what the city life had to offer. There was always also the added bonus of it being somewhat of a taboo. They could imagine themselves as rebels coming out to mingle among the Muggles. At least for someone like Sirius with his family and their extreme prejudices, this could be considered being a rebel. James’ background was not nearly as strict at his best mate’s had been.

The general plan was usually aparating to a familiar spot they had discovered during their last outing and then going on from there. Usually they would just keep going till they found something that caught their interest. It wasn’t very hard to find something entertaining. They had both been raised in the wizarding world after all; this Muggle stuff was intriguing and at times bizarre. They had been doing this for several summers now though and they were well familiar with the areas that were close The Leaky Cauldron and parts of greater London. On this day, they had walked down Charing Cross Road just passing Leicester Square Underground and made a left onto a street that they hadn’t much explored. Mostly because it was a street that consisted entirely of books shops, mostly those that were second hand or extremely obscure. And while there was nothing wrong with books, it wasn’t the sort of entertainment that they usually were hoping for.

However this day had been exceptionally dull and when they had spent most of the summer exploring there was only so much that was left.

As him and Sirius walked along the side walk, passing bookstore after bookstore, nothing in particular catching their attention, James’ companion in this journey was becoming rather frustrated and crabby. “Bloody hell, James,” Sirius said with an exasperated groan. “This is not what I would call an adventure.” He leaned into his mate to whisper so none of the passing Muggles could overhear. “It would be more entertaining to be in class with Binns.”

James let out a soft snort at other adolescent’s complaining, “Then you think of where we can go, Sirius. London holds many entertainments. Pick one if it is so simple.”

Sirius leaned back and gave him an annoyed look. James knew full well that he had no idea what to do either. It was sad really. They were only 16-years-old and already had run out of good ideas. James never thought that they would have reached their peak so soon. They had been brilliant after all.

“Thought so,” James replied as they continued to walk.

It was then out of the corner of his eye that he spotted a few books in window of a shop they were passing. Stopping he leaned in for a closer look. They all had to do with magic! Not really of course but Muggle magic. Or what was it that they called it…the Occult. “Sirius, come look at this.” James said reaching out to grab his friend’s sleeve and pull him back towards the window.

Sirius gave James a disgruntled look as he was pulled back, nearly losing his balance. He couldn’t think of an instance during all the time that he had known James where he was so excited over books. Perhaps what made it even more unbelievable was the fact that they were muggle books. They both had taken muggle studies and while neither of them had any issues with muggles, it wasn’t the most thrilling of classes, especially compared to something like Defense against the Dark Arts. They really were changing it seemed or bored out of their minds. “It’s just rubbish, James,” he said as he looked over the titles of the books that were displayed. He looked up, noticing his friend moving towards the door to enter the shop. “What are you doing?”

“We have nothing better to do.” James said, not even bothering to stop to look back at Sirius before he opened the door and walked in. Sirius had opened his mouth to try countering James’ reasoning for entering but he really couldn’t think of anything. They really did have nothing better to do. Finding no reason not to and realizing that if he had listened to his family and their logic of blood purity and magical superiority, he wouldn’t even be on this street and considering going into a muggle bookshop about muggle magic in the first place, Sirius followed James into the store. This really just went along with his rebellion.

Inside the store was overrun with the smell of old, worn pages of the publications it held. The topics seemed to vary between occult and new age with sprinklings of eastern religion thrown in. None of it was familiar reading to either of the wizards. They looked through the stacks, taking out a book ever now and then to read the back of the cover or flip through the pages.

“Muggle magic.” Sirius muttered with a small laugh as he leaned a hip against a nearby wall and flipped through a book that he had pulled off the shelf. Considering his knowledge of real magic, this all seemed rather silly. Did Muggles really think that these little tricks and rituals they did were actual magic?

“You’re right; it is rather rubbish but…intriguing. It’s like they want to reach out; at least some of them.” James said as he flipped through the pages of a book that he had randomly pulled off the shelf.

“You think so?” A new, feminine voice spoke up from the side of them. Sirius and James both turned at once to find the source of the voice and came face to face with a pretty redhead with vivid green eyes who seemed to have materialized there suddenly. Of course she probably didn’t do that. “Welcome to Watkins, gentlemen,” she said in a cordial tone, looking between the both of them, “Is there something I can help you with?”

James was awe struck for a moment and unable to speak. Sirius glanced over to his mate, arching a dark brow for a moment at the apparent trance James was suddenly in. Turning back to the red head he spoke up, “We’re merely browsing. If we need anything we’ll call for you.” The shop girl gave a slight nod before turning to head back to her spot behind the counter at one end of the shop. It was then that James found his voice again.

Leaving Sirius' side, he followed the redhead to the counter that was lined with knickknacks that were associated with books and reading. “Do you really believe in these sort of things?” he asked holding up the book that he had been reading.

“Excuse me?” The red head asked, folding her hands together on the counter top.

James looked down at the book and pointed to it. Looking back at her he grinned, “This? This stuff about magic; you don’t really believe in it, do you?” She really didn’t look the type. There was intelligence in her vivid green eyes and James couldn’t imagine a smart girl believing in Muggle magic.

“Magic? I’m open minded,” she said with a slight smirk. Reaching out to take the book that he was holding. There was something else behind that look, but James wasn’t sure yet. Really, it made him curious about her all the more.

“Open minded,” he repeated leaning against the counter and giving her a slight nod. That was interesting. Though really he wondered how open minded she really was. If he busted out some magic, would she be so open minded about it and not freak out like many Muggles were apt to do? He wouldn’t do that of course, but it was a thought that came to his mind.

“Yes,” she replied, looking him up and down for a moment, perhaps taking his nod as condescending. “At the very least it’s an interesting topic. You even seemed to concede to that when I came up behind you and your friend. Intriguing I believe was the word that came from your lips.”

“Intriguing and being interested in something doesn’t mean I believe in it,” he countered, leaning in further. This here, however, was very interesting. He hadn’t expected to come into this shop, find a pretty girl who worked there and talk the validity of magic with her. “All this is a waste of time. Believe me. Mugg-Humans don’t have any sort of abilities outside of the normal,” he said, nearly tripping up for a moment.

If the redhead had noticed his slight stumble, she didn’t give away any clues.

“You have a very decided opinion on the matter,” the redhead replied, crossing her arms under her chest. “Or just no imagination. What’s wrong with believing in magic? It makes the world seem a little less bleak and boring. If magic could really exist, it would be spectacular.” There was a passion in her tone. She may have not said that she believed in magic or followed what was in those books but James would bet anything that she did. The way she spoke of it, she seemed to have a very strong invested interest in the topic.

“Are you going to buy anything?” she asked, her voice having a bit of edge on it. That alone told him that he had touched some kind of nerve.

“Um…Yeah, that one,” he said nodding to the book that she had taken from his hands. He wasn’t even sure what title of the book was, but he felt somewhat guilty talking to her and then leaving the shop without buying anything. The least he could do was end it on a high note. He checked his pockets for some money, realizing then that he had only sickles and knuts and a galleon or two on him. No Muggle money.

He looked over his shoulder looking over to Sirius pleading. The other young man could read the look and came over to the counter. Luckily for James, Sirius had come a bit more prepared for a trip into Muggle London. He paid the girl the money for James’ book, giving her a smile before bidding her fair well and heading out the door.

James took the book from her and smiled, leaning in against the counter again, “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Why would you want to know my name?” she asked, putting the money that Sirius had given her into the till. It wasn’t in the same annoyed tone however, and if he didn’t know better he was sure that he saw her grin a little bit. She could just be being nice.

“I plan to come back to the shop and I want to know your name for when I see you again. My name is James if that helps any.”

“Come back again and I’ll tell you my name.” He gave her a confused look at first, to which she replied by leaning over the counter, giving him a flirty grin, “Come back again and I will tell you my name. I work on the weekends.”

Backing up towards the door to the shop with his newly purchased book in hand, he grinned, giving her a final salute with the book. “I’ll be coming back,” he assured her.

 

It was evening when Lily’s shift at Watkins ended. Leaving the bookshop, she found her thoughts drifting to the young man with dark messy hair that walked into the shop that afternoon. This wasn’t the first time that she had been hit on in the shop. She was an attractive young woman and fairly popular at school back home. Since Lily had come to stay with her sister in London for the summer, she had a few occasions where young men would chat her up. This was different though.

There was something about James that just didn’t come off as ‘right’. She couldn’t quite place it though. All she had to go on was her feelings but this didn’t deter Lily as over the years she had learned to trust her intuition. Whether it had something to do with her abilities she didn’t know. Perhaps she just had a good grasp on reading people. Either way, she was convinced that there was something odd about James. A part of her hoped that he was being honest about coming back so she would have the opportunity to find out just what it was.

Lily grinned to herself as she came to the bus stop. Thankfully no one else knew what she was thinking. If they did, they might think her a bit smitten with James. He was barely in the shop for more than 20 minutes yet he had managed to make enough of an impression on her that he consumed her thoughts. What exactly did that mean?

Once the bus arrived and Lily had boarded, the trip back to her sister’s apartment had been uneventful. Getting off at her stop, she walked the half a block to the apartment building and went inside.

The apartment was in its normal state of perfection. Petunia had a certain standard of living and it reflected in the apartment. Everything had to be just so and the only reason that Lily was able to handle living with her sister-even for this short time-was the fact that she had grown up with Petunia. She knew her sister’s habits and Petunia knew hers. Of course that didn’t stop her sister from complaining if even the smallest thing was out of place.

“Lily,” she heard her sister’s pinched tone only moments after walking through the front door. “When you asked to come and stay with me for the summer, I said yes on one condition: respect my rules. One of those rules is that at the very least you clean up after yourself.”

Coming into the living room, Lily placed her back down on the couch. “I do clean up after myself, Petunia,” she replied to her sister, Lily’s tone a mixture of confusion and annoyance at Petunia’s nagging.

“You don’t do a very good job,” Petunia insisted as she flittered about the apartment. Coming over to the couch she picked up the bag Lily had put down and handed it back to her sister, a silent but clear indication that it wasn’t suppose to go there. Lily took the bag back and watched her sister curiously for a moment, taking note that she appeared more agitated than normal. “Like this afternoon, you left crumbs all over the counter! Is it so hard to wipe it down?”

“I was in a hurry.”

Petunia just let out an exasperated breath as she continued to move about, straightening things that didn’t look as though they needed to be straightened or adjusted. “Tunie, what’s wrong?” Lily finally asked. Normally, her sister was high strung and after so many years, Lily had learned how to decipher when she was just being her normal agitated self or when someone truly was bothering her and cause even more agitation.

“I just want everything to be perfect for when—“she cut off suddenly and looked at her sister, clearly reluctant to finish. Lily was sure that she could guess the rest though.

“You’ve invited someone over?” Lily probed gently before a small grin came to her face, “A boy?”

“A _man_ ,” Petunia countered, a slight edge in her tone as though it were silly to even suggest that she would have interest in a boy at her age. She ran her hand over the couch that was also Lily’s bed at night, straightening out a wrinkle. “I just want everything to look perfect. It will be the first time he sees the apartment. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make a good impression.”

Lily could understand her sister’s insistence on making a good impression, even if she didn’t fully believe it. Put your best foot forward of course but no one was perfect and it was really useless to try and convey an illusion of perfection. Their lives certainly weren’t perfect. Things had changed so dramatically after their parents’ death. Going to live with distant relatives and adjusting to a new life and a new location had been hard at first. Lily supposed that’s when Petunia had begun to become particularly neurotic.

“And I know I don’t have to remind you but while he’s here, nothing…nothing magical,” Petunia said suddenly.

Just a little too coincidentally, a lamp on the side table began to float upwards several inches from its perch. “Lily!” Petunia explained as she rushed over to the side table and pushed the lamp back down. She recognized what was going on immediately, it was a trick that Lily had been able to do since she was small. It bothered Petunia, it wasn’t natural and she gave her younger sister a glare that said she didn’t appreciate the display.

“It was just a little joke, Tunie!” Lily exclaimed going over to her sister and placing her hand over Petunia’s as she held the lamp.

“I’m sorry,” Lily said gently to her sister, meaning the words. “I promise no magic.”

Slowly, Petunia let her hands come away from lamp which now was staying firmly on the side table. It probably had been mean but it was too much of a temptation for Lily to pass up. And it wasn’t as though she did magic very often. Only since she had turned seventeen had she started up again. She barely knew how to tap into or utilize her gifts.

“Say, if you’re worried about me doing magic in front of him that means I get to stick around and meet him? You aren’t going to shoo me away? It must be getting serious if you’re willing to let him begin to meet family,” Lily asked with a small smile.

“Don’t make me regret that choice,” Petunia said pointedly before she went to do another walkthrough around the apartment to make sure that everything was as perfect as it had been the last pass.


	2. We’ve been going in the same direction

Much to Lily’s surprise James had returned back to that bookshop and continued to return as often as he could for the remainder of that summer. She still acted coy, refusing to give her name each time he came to see her. It had become a little game between them and he seemed as much into it as she was. He tried many ways of getting it out of her but she was able to resist and counter. Till one day while she had been restocking the shelves with James’s help as he had become a common presence in the shop, she had leaned over and whispered in his ear a single name: Lily.

He though it was a beautiful name, deceptively simple but elegant. And as with her name, he had learned a great deal about her that remaining month before school started. He concluded that he had been right about her from the start. She seemed to have a vested interest in magic, though it was a Muggle kind. How James wished that he should show her the truth. He believed she could handle it, but before he even built up the courage to do that, he had to report to King’s Cross.

Before the summer ended, he had explained to Lily that he went to a boarding school, and had given her his home address to write to him, saying that his parents would forward the letters. If she had been curious as to why she couldn’t just write to him at school, she had spoken up. James was glad for that. He already felt like he was lying to her, even if it was just a lie of omission. She was opening up about her life, telling him about her older sister who she lived with for the summer and having to return home to the second cousin that had taken them in when she and her sister were both young after the death of their parents. She had told him about her school and about her plans to go to university. Anything he brought up about himself had to be twisted ever so slightly or large details kept out. Sometimes he would slip up but so far, no large mistakes to cause worry.

As fall came and turned to winter, their friendship grew. The letters between them had continued through the school year till he had graduated. Then things had began to get serious with the political situation in the magical world. James had come to a very hard crossroad. Lily knew nothing about what was going on. As much as he was sure that he could tell her about the magical world and she wouldn’t react like a typical muggle would, he didn’t think it right to drag her into this mess. She wasn’t a part of this world and he couldn’t pretend anymore that he was a part of hers. He eventually had decided that things were becoming too serious for him to play games with a muggle girl.

He hated to think of Lily like that. She was so much more than just any other Muggle. But it didn’t make the situation any easier at the moment.

He heard a familiar voice call him in the distance trying to break through his reverie. “Potter…Potter,” Sirius called out to him as the four of them walked down the Muggle street, patrolling through an area that had come to be known to the Order of the Phoenix as an area where dark wizards were terrorizing Muggles. It was risky business what they were doing, but all of them knew what they were getting into and they wanted to make a difference.

“He’s too busy thinking about pretty redheads.” He could hear Remus chime in.

“Isn’t it such a coincidence that we’ve ended up around the shop she works in?”

“She shouldn’t even be working tonight,” he said looking back at his friends.

“But you have considered it. I would bet anything,” Sirius said with a laugh, his elbow jabbing Remus in the side. They had great fun teasing him about Lily. They had seen him with other girls through the years. He never acted like this with any of them and none of them had expected him to fall for a girl that he primarily communicated with through letters. It was something out of a romance novel that they would never of course. They had a running joke that this Muggle girl had successfully cast a spell over him. James took it all in stride but in his mind he was plotting revenge.

They were right however; he had been thinking of Lily, much like how he thought about Lily on a fairly regular basis. He had no contact with her for some time now and he wondered about her, wondered what she was doing, wondered how school was her, wondered if she had applied for university. These were things he really had no reason to think of but because they had to do with Lily, they were important to him. Maybe in the back of his mind, since they were in the area, he had hoped to stop by.

Coming up behind him, Sirius put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “We can go walk by the shop,” he said to his friend, knowing full well that it wasn’t a coincidence. “You know, just in case she is there.”

***  
While working in a bookshop after graduating was not her dream job, it was a job nonetheless and since she was living in London now, she needed something; anything to help pay her bills and rent. Luckily she had a roommate-Moira-to help her with the rent part. She was currently looking into possibly universities but there was hesitation. Lily didn’t quite know what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She had gone to school up till this point because that was what she was supposed to do. Now she was at a point where she had to make choices and she had no idea what she wanted. It was frustrating to think that at only eighteen, her life was stalled.

It was a fortunate thing that it was close to closing otherwise she was sure that she wouldn’t have been able to get lost in these thoughts as she unpacked a new shipment of books and began arranging them for a window display. There weren’t any patrons in the shop and in another half hour she would be able to close up for the night. Blowing out a breath to push aside a rogue strand of red hair that fell in front of her face as Lily pulled out several of the books from their box; she heard the bell from the front door to indicate that someone had entered the shop. Lily quickly put the books aside, hoping that she could assist the customer and get them out of the store in a timely manner.

Turning her attention to the newcomer for the first time, she was taken aback when she came face to face with not one customer as she had expected but three and they didn’t look very interested in buying anything from the store. They didn’t address her at first. Instead they remained silent as their critical gaze moved about the shop. They moved further into the shop, still not saying anything and it began to make her very nervous.

“Is there something I can help you with gentlemen? Are you looking for a particular author or genre?” she asked, trying to probe and find a way to assist them faster and get them out of the shop.

Finally one of them responded. He gave a slight snort as he picked up one of the books. “Muggle magic,” he said a note of clear disgust in his tone. “We don’t want anything from _here_. This isn’t real magic. How dare you even try and imply that it is. You had no idea about real magic.”

In disgust he tossed the book back onto its self. The book hit the back of the shelf before toppling off again and taking several other publications with it. Lily’s brow furrowed and she began to back up slowly to get to the desk. The only thing on her mind at the moment was getting to the phone. She had no idea what they would do or what they were capable of. Though the talk of muggle magic and real magic…she had an idea what sort of advantage they had.

“If you have an issue with what we sell, take it up with the owner. I just work here and I’m going to need to ask you to leave,” Lily said with a defiant tone in her voice. She didn’t want trouble; she didn’t want to instigate them. She just wanted them to leave.

All hopes of a possible peaceful settlement vanished though as the one that spoke to her drew out his wand. At seeing the slender wooden rod, she knew that her chances had dropped substantially. What could she do against someone that had been trained?

“Leave? We will, but not without making an example of this shop and you. You understand of course, we can’t let this mockery of our heritage stand.”

They were blocking the way to the door but Lily wasn’t just going to stand there and let them perform some magic on her! Without bothering to reply, she made a mad dash to the side, hoping to use the book shelves as cover. Perhaps there would be a way that could maneuver around them. Magic depended on reflexes right? If she was faster than them, maybe she could out run possible hexes.

In the next moment she heard sounds that were alien to her but instinct and the fact that suddenly paper and books were flying everywhere, wood from the shelves blasted apart behind her. In the back of her mind over and over again she kept thinking how stupid this was and she just needed to get to the door. Suddenly there was a blast directly in front of her that caused her to come to a stop and drop to the ground. They were catching on to where she wanted to go. She needed better cover then the shelves.

Crouched down, adrenaline coursing through her, Lily took a deep breath before making a dash to where she had come from and diving behind the desk. This probably wasn’t any better but it gave her more cover.

“You may as well just keep still. We’ll make it much easier for you then. If you continue to be difficult, it will only make us frustrated. You’ll experience all sorts of nasty spells with real magic then,” the wizard said, his tone mocking. She could hear the floor boards creak as they began to approach the desk. “Maybe that’s what you would want? You are so interested in magic. How fascinating to experience something you would never be able to on your own!”

***

There was added energy in James’ step as they walked down Cecil court. The street was all but deserted since most of the shops had closed for the evening. He didn’t expect her to be in the shop this late, but after so long without seeing her, at least being in a place where he had been with her gave him some measure of happiness. But also some regret. He never had bucked up the courage to ask her out on a proper date before school started. Now he was set on keeping her out of the troubles of their world.

Watkins storefront was within view, no more than half a block away from them. The group of young wizards were happily chatting, letting their guard down for a moment for this little side trip. Needless to say when there was a sudden strong force, a pressure that blew out the glass of the windows and the door, none of them had been expecting it.

James took off in a run towards the shop. What the hell had that been? It didn’t look exactly like an explosion. What could explode in a bookshop? He could hear the others behind him but their footsteps faded as he came up to the front of the shop, glass and broken wood crunched under his shoes. He could see inside the shop thanks to the light of a lamp that had been situated on the counter but now laid out on the floor of the shop, flickering intermittently. There were three dark figures lying on the ground in the shop wearing what could only be seen as wizard robes. What were they doing here?

His confusion was interrupted by movement coming from behind the counter. Taking out his wand, he readied incase he needed to defend himself and slowly approached the counter. The first thing he saw was a flash of red hair in the dim lighting. “Lily?!”

As she looked up, James felt relief go through him as his eyes met with her green ones. There was some fear behind them and confusion but still a strength that he would come to associate with her. Her gaze flickered down to his wand. “You’re one of them,” he heard her say, her tone breathless almost in disbelief.

Looking down at his wand that he still had pointed at her, James quickly moved to slide the slender wooden stick onto his belt. “I’m not,” he said curtly as he reached down to pull her up from the sitting position and walked her towards the exit quickly. The three dark wizards were out of it for now and he didn’t want to get into a duel with Lily around. Not that she probably hadn’t seen something already…

Sirius, Remus and Peter had caught up by the time that James was taking Lily from the shop. “We should go back,” James said as soon as he saw his friends.

“With her?” Peter asked incredulously, pointing to Lily. “Isn’t she the muggle you’ve been caught up on, James? She’s just going to be in the way.”

“Muggle,” Lily repeated softly.

“Non-magic folk.” Remus explained with a cordial smile, believing that she would be unfamiliar with the term. The best right now would be to remain calm. Yes, they were going to have to explain some out there things to a Muggle but if they were calm, hopefully she would be calm and they wouldn’t have to cause anymore of a scene then already had been accomplished. And in the end her memories could be altered anyway. No harm done.

“Right…non-magical folk.” Lily said in acknowledgment before her gaze went back to James. She looked as though she were struggling to say something but was unable to find the words.

James knew that he would have a great deal to answer for, but he didn’t want to do it here. Looking at Sirius, he took a deep breath, “Let’s just go back. If we get reamed by Dumbledore then blame me. But she’s already seen too much. What more harm could it do?” Sirius didn’t look pleased and Peter shared the expression. James was sure he could guess what they were thinking on his choice and motivations. It made sense to him though. They couldn’t just leave Lily there. These wizards would wake up and they would be angry that their spells had backfired somehow.

“Excuse me?” Lily spoke up, the first time seeming to come out of the stunned expression she had up till this point. “I’m not going anywhere with you lot. Look at this place! I have to call the police. I have to call my boss.”

“The muggle authorities won’t be able to do anything,” James replied, trying to reason with her. There was no point in hiding anything now. “I’m asking you to trust me, Lily. Please.”

 

James and Sirius had somewhat of a reputation throughout the Order as being reckless and wild. No one had believed that they were downright stupid however. They were smart but young and filled with boyish energy that sometimes led them do things that could be seen as counterproductive. The way they saw it, their methods did get the job done. Still, no one really knew what to think of the move to bring a Muggle back with them. They had received a talking to by Dumbledore himself, but James didn’t regret doing what he did. It was the best option they had in this situation.

It was at least a couple hours when he was finally able to see Lily again. Coming into the room, he was immediately able to tell that she very happy. Understandable considering that she was in this unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people and the only other person that she did know hadn’t been accessible till now. Walking across the room, he took a seat at the table that she was situated. He wasn’t sure what she had been doing while he had been detained. He had heard she had been looked over by Alice, James supposed it was a necessary precaution. She didn’t look to have any serious injuries. Just some cuts and black and blue marks. Amazing considering that the magic that had knocked out windows and three dark wizards unconscious hadn’t seemed to affect her in any way.

“You stopped writing to me,” she said finally looking at him. It was hard for him to discern the emotion in her gaze at that moment. She had to be angry at him for that. He hadn’t even given her a final explanation and instead had just stopped writing. “Is all this why? I thought you said you didn’t believe in magic.”

“I said I didn’t believe in Muggle magic. There’s a difference.” he said pointedly, feeling rather uncomfortable that he was being forced into this position.

Lily actually laughed, reaching up she ran her hands though her mussed red hair. This had to be difficult for her. She was muggle after all, what did she know of this sort of magic. She did rituals out of those silly muggle magic books but this had to be the first time she saw actual magic. “Okay,” she said with a deep breath. “You’re a wizard. It’s uncanny.”

“Uncanny?” James asked. It wasn’t the word he would have used to describe the situation.

“Of course,” she said with a slight snort, leaning her elbow against her knee and resting her chin in her hand. “You are wizard and always have been. You walked into my shop probably for the same reason that they did. Morbid curiosity. You let me gabber on and on about muggle magic.

He just stared at her, unsure of what to say next. He wasn’t even very sure what she was trying to imply. And what shocked him most of her demeanor. At the shop she had seemed shell shocked but that could contribute to the attack. Now that things had calmed down, Lily was taking all of this rather well. Perhaps she was just as open minded as she always claimed to be.

Leaning forward against the table he lowered his voice, “I wanted to tell you, Lily,” he said, feeling now was as good a time as any to unburden himself to her. He hated it had to develop this way but there was nothing that could be done about it now. He didn’t know if they would even let her keep these memories but he had to say his peace. “I really did. It’s just…complicated and with you being a Muggle, there are laws. Sometimes there are exceptions and I really thought you could be one of them but I didn‘t want to bring you into this world with everything that is going on. It‘s a mess right now!” He could go on with trying to explain things but held up her hand in a wordless gesture to cut him off.

“You think I’m a non-magical person? A muggle?”

He was dumbstruck by her question. “Yes…” he replied. It made sense. It was the only thing that made sense. She had never displayed any magical capabilities and if she were magical she would have gone to Hogwarts! Or any other school. Who was magical but didn’t learn to use it? In his mind, he had always associated with her with being Muggle.

Without saying anything in reply to his answer, Lily leaned to the side slightly to slip her hand into her jean pocket. Pulling out a few random trinkets: an ID card, some gum, and a key, she let them drop onto the table. James watched with an odd fascination, unsure what she was doing and what it had to do with the conversation that they were having. What did any of these things have to do with magic? In the next moment however his questions were answered as the objects began to levitate and float in mid air just a few inches above the table they had been placed on.

James just stared, his whole perception of her suddenly being flipped by this small act. “I’ve been able to do this since I was a child,” Lily said, her voice cutting into his thoughts. “I can do other things as well. Small things…well, aside from what happened at the bookshop tonight.”

“You did that in the bookstore?” he asked looking up at her. “You knocked those wizards out with that blast?“ She was a witch! That changed everything and James was suddenly overjoyed, confused still but this could change everything. She belonged in this world. He wouldn’t have to keep her out. He had no right to keep her out like he had. He wondered why she wasn’t apart of it already. “How…how did this happen? You’re a witch, Lily! A witch and you told me you went to muggle school.”

“What happened at the bookstore was self defense!” she countered with a defensiveness he didn’t quite understand the need for. He wasn’t accusing her of anything. He was astonished by her actions. “They had come in started ranting about how the shop was an insult to them and a mockery to your whole culture. They became violent and I…subconsciously reacted. James it’s a long story…”

“I have time,” he said leaning back in his seat, clearly getting himself comfortable. He had all the time in the world right now for her. He had gotten to know her outside of magic and now he wanted to know who she was as Lily Evans the Muggle born.


	3. Different Flowers From The Same Garden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are past events.

_Lily looked out of the window by her seat, watching as the landscape streaked by. She was exhausted, thoroughly drained emotionally and physically. Her green eyes had dulled some, becoming more pale green then emerald and rimmed with red from the intermittent crying spells._

 _She sniffed hard and reached up to wipe her nose, looking over to Petunia who was taking refuge in a book she had taken from home. After the arrangements had made, Lily and Petunia had been taken back home to pack some things to take with them. Lily had brought clothes, a few personal items that she had to have, a photo album that she had started keeping once she had gotten her letter to Hogwarts. At the time, her thought had been that if she was going away, she wanted to have memories of her family with her._

 _At the thought of Hogwarts, Lily let out a soft gasp. In the midst her parents death and the whirlwind of activity that followed, she had forgotten all about being about Hogwarts and being a witch. She hadn’t even thought of taking her wand! “Tunie, I-I left my…” She leaned forward and lowered her voice so that no one else could overhear her. “I left my wand and the letter at home!”_

 _Petunia looked up, scowling, clearly not in the mood to talk of magic. “I know you did. That’s what I brought them.”_

 _“You did?” Lily asked with surprise._

 _“Do you think I want anyone to find that stuff when they go through our home?” Petunia asked her little sister as she closed the book and put it aside. “They would probably just think you were a silly little girl playing pretend or something. Still, it could look bad. I don’t want them thinking badly of Mummy and Daddy.”_

 _Lily had become more then familiar with Petunia’s dislike for magic, the negative comments weren’t new. Sitting back, Lily decided that she should be thankful anyway. Even if Petunia’s intentions were only to help herself from the embarrassment of someone learning that her sister was a witch. “Thank you,” She muttered and looked away again._

 _“If all you are worried about is that damn school and how you’re going to get there come September, then I’ll give you your little stick when we get to Grandma Sophia’s and you can have fun telling them all about your magic.” Petunia added scornfully._

 _Her eyes narrowing, Lily looked back to her sister. “That isn’t all I am worried about, Tunie. I had forgotten it in the first place because I was thinking about mummy and daddy and you. Thinking about what would happen to us. I was worrying about if we would be separated.”_

 _“We are going to be separated!” Petunia injected angrily._

 _“No, we’ll be with Grandma Sophia. She wouldn’t—” before the younger girl could continue however, Petunia interrupted her._

 _“That isn’t want I mean.” Petunia’s voice cracked slightly. This was the first time through this ordeal that Lily had seen any splits in her sister’s calm demeanor. Petunia had been a rock the moment that they were told the news of their parents passing. Petunia had been the one to comfort Lily during those initial moments of hearing the news. She had been the one to talk with the social worker about other family that could take them in. She had taken her role as the older sister very seriously in this crisis. However, since they were settled on, Petunia didn’t have to play strong anymore._

 _“You’re going to that school,” she said, lowering her voice to a disdainful hiss. “  
“You’ll be gone. I’ll be alone. You’ll have your magic and you’ll forget all about living normally. None of it will be good enough anymore. I see how you are with that boy. He tells you about that world and your eyes just light up. You can’t wait to get away from this world and me.” _

_Lily shook her head, red locks swooshing back. She felt a panic rise of in her. Her sister really thought that she was abandoning her? “No…no, no, no, Tunie, that’s not it. That’s not it at all,” she said, her words rushed as she tried to think of a way to fix this._

 _Petunia looked away, clearly not liking the idea of crying in front of anyone right now, not even her little sister. It broke Lily’s heart and she wasn’t even sure that her heart could be aching anymore then it was. How could she go to Hogwarts now? How could she go there, knowing that Petunia would think she had abandoned her in favor of people and a world she barely knew? Petunia was her family. The only person she had really. Lily felt so sick in heart at the loss of her parents and now she was going to have to leave her sister and everything that was familiar to her After so much change in such a short time, the idea of going through that was daunting._

 _“I won’t go.” she stated suddenly, “I won’t go to Hogwarts, Tunie. I’ll stay with you. I don’t think I could tell Grandma Sophia about this anyway. She wouldn’t believe me. I want to stay.”_

 _Those words apparently weren’t what Petunia expected. She looked to her sister with astonishment. She had been ready for Lily to just leave, certain her sister wanted her special school and powers over her family and normal life. Getting up from her seat, Petunia moved across the way to sit besides Lily. She wrapped her arms around the younger girl and hugged her tightly._

 _Lily laid her head against Petunia’s shoulder as she hugged her sister back just as tightly. She clenched her eyes closed a soft sobs began to come from her._

 

Lily stumbled forward and would have fallen flat on her face if not for James. With quick reflexes, he reached out to wrap his arm around her trim waist to pull her back against him. She remained very still, waiting for the nausea to die down and for her head to stop spinning. This wasn’t the first time that she had apparated. The first time had been several hours ago, earlier in the evening, when James and his friends had taken her from the book shop. For some reason however, this time felt more jarring.

Once the spinning and nausea seemed to pass, she waited for James to let her go. Nothing happened however. He didn’t make a move. Lily looked over her shoulder. “You can let go of me now,” she said.

Reluctantly, James loosened his hold around her waist. Apparition could be hard on those unaccustomed to the pull and squeeze of the magic. Lily was aware of magic but she had still been raised as a muggle. While he didn’t know very much about muggle science, James knew that there were rules to how muggles viewed the world. Disappearing in one place and appearing in another went against mind set. Lily was strong enough to take it. After getting to know her over the past year, he had no doubt she was open minded enough to take it all in. He had the feeling that she had been through enough tonight, however.

Also, if he were being completely honest, he liked the feel of her against him. She was so close that he could smell a slight sweetness from whatever shampoo she used for her hair. Her curves were soft but there was strength in her stance. He knew that she had to be tired. It was nearly 4 in the morning. She wasn’t letting it get to her though. Or maybe she didn’t feel comfortable enough with him to relax at the moment.

When she slipped from his grasp, Lily took a deep breath, reaching up to brush back strands of her red hair. She looked around, trying to discern where James had dropped them. She had thought that he was taking her back to the bookshop. Lily would have preferred to just go home at this point but there were a few problems with that.

James didn’t know where she lived and wasn’t so familiar with the city-the muggle parts, anyway-that she could just give him a street name. Apparation was tricky and potentially dangerous as she had come to learn from James and his friends. If James didn’t know where he was going, the risk was higher. They had to pick a location that he knew and the bookshop was best option.   
“Where are we?” she finally asked, looking over to him.

“The alley outside your shop,” he replied.

Without a word, Lily turned and began to head towards the opening of the alley that led out onto the street. “Lily?” James asked with a frown before he began to follow after her. When he stepped out onto the side walk, she was walking briskly, heading in the direction that he assumed was her home. “Lily, wait!” he called again.

She stopped and looked back at him. “James, it’s late and the night has been…I honestly can’t come up with a word to describe tonight. Trippy comes close but not quite,” she said, bringing her hand up and pressed to fingers against the side of her temple. “I just need to sleep at this point.”

“I’m coming with you,” James replied as he began to approach her, his tone telling her that he wasn’t going to be persuaded otherwise. Not that she had the energy to do so. She just gave him a small shrug and turned around, waited till he was at her side before she began to lead him down the street.

The two of them walked in silence for a long moment. The streets were primarily empty. Every so often there would be a car that drove down the street or a lone pedestrian would from the opposite direction, to pass them without so much of a glance. They were either pulling an all-nighter like her and James or they were heading to early morning work. Both possibilities were plausible at this hour. Lily was thankful for James presence at that point. The streets weren’t exactly safe. Even if she was planning on taking a night bus once they came to one of the stops, it felt good to have another presence around.

Then they came up to Watkins.

Lily couldn’t help but stare at the shop as they began to pass. It looked about the same as it had when she left. Though, the glass on the side walk had been swept away and now there was police tape over the door and the broken window. Inside she could see shelves that had been destroyed by the spells that had been thrown at her. Scraps of shredded paper littered the floor and books were scattered around in disarray. The dark wizards they had left were gone. She wondered if the authorities had taken them or if they had recovered before then.

As though sensing her thoughts, James spoke up. “They were most likely gone before the muggle authorities came.”

Her gaze tore away from the chaotic scene of the inside of the bookstore and moved over to him. “Gone? You think they are still out there?”

“They could be,” he said with a thoughtful expression. He didn’t like the idea of that though. It made him feel as if they had left unfinished business. He had left the wizards who attacked her because he believed that the Aurors would handle it. If they had recovered before Mad Eye or anyone else got there…

“We reported the attack though,” he said, sounding almost like he was trying to convince himself as well as her. “There are members of the Order that work in the Auror Department. They could have come and cleaned up the scene to do away with any traces of magic. To your police, it may just have looked like an act of vandalism.”

Lily took a deep breath and nodded. She would just have to accept what he said. She had no idea what an Auror was but she didn’t have the energy to ask for details just now.

They came up to the bus stop at this point and Lily stopped just beside the sign that indicated the stop. The buses would be on their night schedule at this time. It may take her a bit longer for her to arrive home but she would get there eventually. James stood beside her, looking around curiously. “Are we waiting for something?” he asked.

“Night bus,” Lily replied casually as she leaned out slightly to look down the street, hoping to see the flash of headlights.

“Knight bus? We have those!” he said with a slight grin.

Lily looked back to him, leaning back with interest. There was much she didn’t know about the wizard world still and from what she did see, it seemed as though technology wouldn’t exist in their world. “You lot take buses? You can’t just disappear and reappear all the time, wherever you like?”

“Clearly not,” James replied, indicating the predicament that they were in now. Aspiration was a useful traveling spell, but it didn’t work everywhere and not everyone was comfortable with it, those that hadn’t earned their license couldn’t do it. “There are various methods of travel,” he went on to explain.

Before he could go on any longer however, bright headlights flashed from down the street. James turned to look over his shoulder, shielding his eyes from the beams of light. In the back of his mind, he knew that she couldn’t have meant Knight Bus. When the red double decker pulled up the stop however, he still felt some surprise. He had taken the muggle bus system once or twice with his mates. It had left him unimpressed to say the least. There was so much stopping and the traffic could be a nightmare! James would have loved to show Lily what a magical bus could be like. It was a completely different experience.

He didn’t get the chance to even bring up the idea however, as Lily was already boarding the double decker. James followed behind her dutifully. After paying for the both of them, Lily moved down the center aisle to take a seat in the back of the bus. James slid into the seat beside her, settling in for the ride.

James would have liked to continue their conversation from outside, but there were a few muggles riding the bus with them that morning. There was a woman who looked to be in her mid-thirties, she appeared to have nodded off but when the bus jerked forward, her head jolted back up and she shifted in her seat. There was another young couple towards the front that was cuddled up close to each other. No one would probably pay any mind to them if they did start chatting but he didn’t want to chance it.

Looking over to Lily, he doubted that she would be very much up for it. She sat in her seat, leaning against the side, the side of her forehead pressed up against the window as she stared out at the passing streets and buildings. “Are you alright?” he asked in a whisper, leaning in so only she could hear him. “Are you still feeling off from the apparition?”

Lily sat up straighter and shook her head. “No, no, I’m just tired. It’s late,” she insisted, a slight edge in her tone. She immediately regretted it after the words passed her lips. Taking a deep breath, she tried to explain herself. “It’s been a long night,” she said in a more even tone. “You have to understand, James. The things I’ve told you tonight, I haven’t told anyone about Hogwarts or my parents. Up till this moment, there were only 2 people that even knew about my…gifts.”

After she had promised Petunia that she wouldn’t be attending the magical school, Lily had truly believed that she had lost her opportunity to be a part of the magical world. She put it behind her, for the most part anyway. She was sure that some would view her job at a bookshop that catered with occult literature was subconscious desire for what she had lost. Perhaps it was. She never thought that it would lead her to meeting a wizard or being attacked.

“There is so much to take in. It’s exhausting,” she said, bringing her hands up and rubbing them over her tired face.

For her sake, James let a silence fall between them for the remainder of the ride. His mind was hardly silent though. Thoughts and questions raced through him. He wanted to ask her more. He wanted to offer her comfort. He wanted to be able to show her everything that she had given up. She could still have it. It was her right!

Much sooner than he expected, Lily said that they were coming up to her stop. James followed her off the bus, allowing her to lead the rest of the way to where her apartment building stood. Lily finally stopped and turned to face him. “This is me,” she said indicating the building behind her. She gave him a smile. It was genuine but tired. “Thank you for coming with me, James.”

“I wasn’t going to abandon you, Lily. Besides, I’ve wanted to know where you live. It will make it so much easier for me to visit you,” he replied with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, should I be afraid of you stalking me?” she teased.

“Not exactly.”

Again there was a silence; this one wasn’t like the others during their journey however. There was a tension in this one. As though there was something waiting to happen, waiting for one of them to make a move.

“You know, you didn’t miss your chance, Lily,” James finally spoke up. She gave him a puzzled look at first, as though she didn’t understand what he was suggesting. “You can still be a part of this world. You won’t be able to go to Hogwarts at, of course. Hogwarts isn’t the end all and be all though. We could teach you.”

Lily frowned. She hadn’t even considered that. Granted, there had been much more on her mind the past several hours. His offer was tempting, it really was. She wanted to accept. This was a part of herself that she had been denying for the past seven years. This was a second chance that she had never expected to have. “Aren’t you fighting in a war? Do you really have the time to be teaching me magic?”

“War is 85% downtime and 15% chaos.” James was adamant about this. He had spent the past summer alienating her because he believed that it would be in her best interest. She was a witch; she deserved to know how to use her magic. He wanted her to be a part of his life again.

“James, I don’t—”

Lily was stopped mid-sentence however, when James leaned in and brushed his lips to hers. It was an effective measure in silencing her and seemed to ease the tension that had been quietly building between the two of them. Slowly, James felt her relax into the kiss. He was grateful that she didn’t pull back or slap him. This was a bold move, something he had wanted to do for a long time now.

James reached up and gripped her arms gently. He pulled back slightly, only enough that he could speak; he touched his forehead to hers. “Just say yes. Please, Lily.”

Lily opened her mouth and James felt his breath hitch in his throat as he waited for her reply.

“Lily?” a new, strange voice called from above them. James pulled back and looked up to where this new voice was coming from.

Leaning out of one of the windows was a young woman that looked to be about Lily’s age. Her dark, long hair hang over her shoulders she looked down at them. James wondered just how much she had heard, if anything. “Lily is that you?”

Lily looked up. A small smile crossing her lips. “Good morning, Moira,” she called up to the woman, giving her a small wave.

“Oh, thank God!” Moira exclaimed before she disappeared back into the window.

Lily looked back to James, giving him an apologetic look. “My roommate,” she explained.

“Should I leave?” he asked.

Before Lily could respond, the front door to the apartment building opened and Moira appeared. She didn’t seem to notice James at first and instead went straight for Lily, wrapping her arms around the red head to pull her into a tight hug. The force at which Moira had come at her, caused Lily to stagger back slightly but she remained standing.

“You’re alive!” Moira exclaimed before she pulled back, giving Lily a once over. As she continued to speak, her words came out in quick succession, leaving hardly any room for interruption. “You’re not hurt right? Where have you been? You gave me a right good scare. I had Nathan take me by the shop when you didn’t come home on time. There were Bobbies all over the place! No one knew where you were!”

Lily freed herself from her friend’s hold and held up her hands to try and calm the girl. “I’m sorry, Moira. I’m sorry. I should have called. I’m fine. I promise. I’ll explain everything…” At least she would try. Lily had no idea what she would say to her boss; let alone what she would say to her roommate.

Moira took a deep, calming breath. “I’m just happy to see you. You don’t even want to know the thoughts that have been going through my head. I thought maybe you had been kidnapped, with some psychopath..." Her words trailed when she finally noticed James standing just to the side.

Lily’s gaze followed Moira’s. “Moira, this is James.”

“Ah…” her roommate replied, as she looked over James critically. She didn’t look as though she quite trusted him but then, she had apparently spent the past several hours thinking that her friend had been abducted or worse.

Eventually, she turned her attention back to Lily. “By the way, you have to call your sister.”

“I do?”

Moira nodded, and then almost looked apologetic. “When no one knew where you were and you didn’t come home, I didn’t know what else to do…”

“So, you called my sister?” Lily’s brow furrowed. When she had left the shop with James and his friends, she hadn’t thought of how Moira would take her disappearance. It wasn’t like Lily to not come home after work or at the very least, not call if she did have other plans pop up. Reaching up, Lily ran her hand through her hair and blew out an exasperated breath. “Okay, I’ll call her. Try to explain things. In a few hours, though. It’s too early to call her now. She’s probably sleeping.”

This seemed to be enough to appease Moira. She looked between Lily and James for a moment before turning to head back into the building. “Don’t be too long, Lily,” she called over her shoulder.

Once the young woman had disappeared, Lily turned to James. “She’s really very nice under normal circumstances.”

James just nodded, not wanting to say anything to offend Lily. He didn’t know Moira. He didn’t like be suspected of doing something that was completely against his nature but he could respect her concern for her friend. “I should let you go,” he said instead, a small smile touching his lips.

Lily nodded in agreement. Leaning up, she brushed her lips against her in a quick kiss. A goofy smile crossed James lips after she pulled away. “I’ll think about your offer,” she assured him. “Good night, James.”

“Good morning, Lily,” he said, waiting till she went into the building before he went to find a secluded location to apparate from.


End file.
